The posting
Job Description:
POSITION SUMMARY:
Patient Registration is responsible for scheduling appointments and providing necessary front office support for Desert Sage; including but not limited to answering telephones, retrieving voice messages and return calls, as well as maintaining tracking systems and data collection activities.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED:
- Work under the daily supervision of the Patient Registration/Dental Clinic Manager.
- Responsible to report and work under the Clinic Manager according to steps in Health Center policies, in the absence of the Patient Registration/Dental Clinic Manager report to the Operations Manager.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Greets and welcomes all patients/visitors to the clinic in a courteous, helpful and friendly manner.
- Determines purpose of visit or phone calls and directs patients/visitors/callers to appropriate area. In the event of emergency, seeks clinical support staff assistance.
- Performs intake duties including explaining various forms such as Patient Registration, , DOT forms, Sliding Scale Discount Availability, Patient Rights, Medical Releases and Insurance, good faith estimates, and Health Note digital intake. Explain the Right to Privacy Act (HIPAA’s Notice of Privacy form) to new patients.
- Updates and verifies demographic information for established patients to include: addresses, phone numbers, insurance benefits, and emergency contact. Check for missing information and collect if appropriate i.e. patient photo, patient portal registration, Healthy Connection referral as applicable.
- Registers new patients. This activity includes, but is not limited to, interviewing patients, offer/explain sliding scale discount eligibility, registration forms, entering data into computer system, collecting/verifying/scanning insurance for billing, Healthy Connection referral, upload patient photo, patient portal registration, obtaining necessary signatures, and FQHC sociological data as required i.e. veteran, agricultural status, race/ethnicity, SOGI, income levels.
- Promptly check-in patients arriving for their appointments on time, monitors time waiting (no more than 10 minutes) for clinical/dental support staff to take patient to exam rooms and proactively communicates reasons for excessive wait time with patient and/or clinical support staff.
- Participate in morning huddles with clinical and/or dental staff to prepare for work day to include needs for interpretation, available appointments, triage and ensuring that schedules are at capacity for each day and next day.
- Determine timeframe for appointment requests for new and established patients utilizing standards of scheduling protocol and the degree of patient’s medical needs.
- Monitor and update ‘Eligibility and Phone’ reports to verify insurance and monitor patient’s re- schedule requests from phone reminder calls.
- Efficiently reschedules return appointments and assess patient for satisfaction of visit when the patient presents to “check-out” to finish their appointment.
- Maintain knowledge of the current standard scheduling and tools.
- Offer and/or update sliding scale discount to every patient (no insurance, under-insured and insured, & Medicare) information for eligibility for discounted services.
- Explains the 340B medication program to patients and verifies 340B information is up-to-date and accurate on an annual basis.
- Collect monies and payments from patients for office visits and any fees due at time of service (TOS) during “check-in” for patient’s visit and collects Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) for non-covered services, or non-covered service waivers (NCSW), as appropriate.
- Direct medication refill requests to the clinical support staff via patient case in electronic health computer system.
- Knowledge on how to problem-solve various situations that occur in the medical, and/or dental electronic health record system related to the patient’s statement, demographics and insurance information.
- Maintain cash box balancing at the beginning and end of each day. Conduct/complete the daily close for each site at day’s end by balancing cash box to Transaction Detail Balancing Report and other closing duties. i.e. lock front door, log out of phone system, check out all patients, secure cash box, secure keys, turn lights off, set security alarm if last person in the building, etc.
- Works in collaboration with Patient Accounts to problem-solve accounts, as appropriate.
- Maintains strict patient confidentiality at all times.
- Clean and maintain workspace, lobby area, computers, printers, and photocopiers on a regular basis according to equipment maintenance procedures.
- On a rotating basis with other staff work evenings and Saturdays as applicable.
- Assist in training new patient registration staff as necessary.
- Ability and transportation to rotate between three health center locations as needed.
- Employee knows DSHC’s 5 core values and demonstrates the specific valued behaviors on a daily basis.
- Perform all other duties as assigned.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
- High school diploma or GED equivalent.
- Preferred six months working in clinical setting.
- Preferred bilingual in English and Spanish.
TECHNICAL SKILLS:
- Strong verbal communication skills. Courteous and empathic personality.
- Ability to operate electronic health computers/keyboard and phone system.
- Ability to work under pressure and handle multiple tasks.
- Prefer at least one-year public contact experience.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality per the Privacy Act.
- Possess good judgment about handling clinical emergencies and behavioral problems.
